Easter Sunday 2021 - Who will roll back the stone for us

 “Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.” Consider for a moment how Mary Magdalene had begun making her way to the tomb with no idea that the stone blocking the tomb would have been rolled back.

In fact, in Mark' version of the Gospel, Mary Magdalene states to the other women accompanying her, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” After all, the stone was heavy. It was large. It was truly a foreboding obstacle. It took several people to roll it into place. And yet, even before the first rays of Sunday-dawn began to fully shine, the faithful holy women went anyway to the tomb anyway—to anoint the body of Jesus. 

And yet, maybe there was something else. A hope. An intuition that something had changed. Perhaps, even an unspoken confidence that God would provide the means to overcome this obstacle. God was drawing them forward, despite the obstacle. And behold, hardly had they arrived when the saw “the stone rolled back”. For the Lord had risen!

We too have a keen desire to find the risen Lord. And we often worry that there are many obstacles to finding Him—wounds from the past, concerns about the present, anxieties about the future, doubts, attachments, preoccupying questions: My life is so busy, however will I find him? My life is so complex, however can I really trust Him. My sins are so great, however will he triumph over my vices?

I can assure you, precisely because you want to find the Lord, you have already overcome many obstacles-many doubts and attachments. God has already rolled back many stones for you.  

Last night at the easter Vigil, two souls in particular were in our midst, who, like Mary Magdalen, like Peter running to the tomb, Angela and Bruce, from our parish RCIA. Let me tell you, they were full of joy last night, seeking and finding the risen Lord in the Sacraments of the Church. We can only imagine the many obstacles that they had to overcome in order to make it here last night—and we are so glad they are—directed by divine providence, in answer to our prayers, and the sufferings of the martyrs and saints. The stone blocking the encounter with the Risen Lord in the Sacraments was finally rolled back. No doubt, a sign of new life, the life of the resurrection in our parish, as for the last two year we didn’t have any new initiates. It’s not too early to start praying for next year’s class, whoever those souls might be. Maybe someone here this morning will come to seek the Lord in Baptism or full initiation. For this we pray!

The search for the risen Christ, of course, is not only for the uninitiated. The search for God is an ongoing dimension of the Christian life. For this reason, following the example of the holy women, every Christian must always have a holy preoccupation about seeking and finding the Lord, daily. “Seek and Ye shall find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.” Waking up in the early dawn—or whenever that alarm clock rings, and prayerfully committing to searching for him daily will make us industrious and diligent in our spiritual lives. 

And like the holy women, the Christian life also calls us to that confidence in divine aid, that the Lord will take care of those stones which are beyond our own strength to move. God is already at work to roll back many stones—many obstacles to grace—in the life of this parish, as he always has been. But not just the life of the parish in general, God is occupied with the large stones in our individual spiritual lives. For, the Lord desires to draw each of us deeper into His divine life, and will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, when we trust Him.

Trust. It’s not easy for many of us. Especially for those who have been wounded and betrayed in the past. But Easter is a time of new beginnings. So, trust that the Church’s teachings will enable you to walk in the fullness of life. Trust that devout prayer is worth more than all other earthly responsibilities. Trust, that the Church’s pastors will lead you in holiness and truth. Trust that the effort to break your selfish habits is worth it. Trust, not in your own strength, but in God’s grace, to roll back those unfathomably heavy stones.

Every year, Easter marks a time of renewal in our faith lives, our spiritual lives, in our search for God. But Easter is the promise that the Risen Christ can be found even in the emptiest of places, the most sorrowful places, those places once ruled only by death. 

In just a few moments, we will renew our baptismal promises: our resolve to not be mastered by sin, by those immovable rocks, but that through the faith of the Church, we will seek Him who longs to be found, over and over in our lives. For He is Risen. Death couldn’t hold him. Unbelief and human cruelty couldn’t vanquish him. Politics can’t replace Him. Science can’t explain him away. The noise of the world cannot silence him. Perversion, selfishness, human weakness cannot keep him from being longed for. 

For He was bound and now brings power. He was bruised and now brings healing, He was pierced and now eases pain, He was persecuted and now brings freedom, He was killed and now brings life. For he is Risen. Indeed, he is Risen. Alleluia. Alleluia. For the glory of God and salvation of souls.